North America

Musical history of Roosevelt Cordova ”El Presidente de La Salsa”

Just as the case of Cuba and Puerto Rico, Peru has also given birth to many salsa exponents worthy of being highlighted and one of them is the talented Roosevelt Cordova, artistically known as ”El Presidente de La Salsa”.

The sonero has a very interesting career behind him, so we decided to contact him and know a little more about his personal and professional life. Roosevelt responded by thanking us for the opportunity and finally, we were able to agree on a day and time to talk about issues of interest around his figure.

Roosevelt El Presidente de La Salsa — This is Roosevelt Cordova ”El Presidente de La Salsa”

His taste in music since he was a child

As has happened with many other salseros, Roosevelt also fell in love with music when still a child, but without knowing at the time that this is what he would dedicate his life to later.

He always saw his family enjoying music at amateur level, which awakened in him a taste for this branch of art. However, his journey in this world did not begin with salsa, but with Peruvian waltzes and Creole music. It was not until he turned 17 that he became interested in salsa because an uncle of his signed him up for a contest called ”Buscando Un Sonero”, taking third place among 84 participants in total.

Thanks to his performance in the contest, he was proposed to join the orchestra Camagüey, but his father refused because of all the excesses that an artist must face and he considered that his minor son was not ready for that. On the contrary, he preferred his son to be interested in other activities such as sports and leave music for later.

In addition to this, the great references in which Roosevelt was inspired to follow his path have been El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Willie Rosario, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Héctor Lavoe, La Fania All Stars, among others.

Roosevelt in Los Angeles

It wasn’t until Roosevelt, at the age of 25, left for the United States that he could pursue his dreams and become the artist he dreamed he would be.

He did not initially plan to devote himself to music, as he simply wanted to progress in life like any other immigrant, but it was not long before he decided to take the bully by the horns and return his great passion. It is then when he recorded an entire Peruvian Creole music album, but soon left this genre to return to recording salsa.

This is how he began to seize every opportunity to participate in salsa orchestras to gain experience little by little.

The first group he belonged to was La Sonora Santiaguera, which he joined in 1998, but from then on, there were many others with which Roosevelt learned much of what he knows today as an artist.

Roosevelt in La Sonora and El Conjunto — Roosevelt Cordova belonged to La Sonora Santiaguera and Johnny Polanco Y Su Conjunto Amistad

One of the most important orchestras he belonged to was Johnny Polanco Y Su Conjunto Amistad. After all the experience gained so far, Roosevelt was encouraged to personally look for Johnny to talk to him at El Floridita, where El Conjunto Amistad performed weekly.

The artist told the leader of the group he was a singer and wanted a chance in his group. After hearing him sing with his musicians that same night, Johnny invited him over to his home to give him a cassette with all the songs he had to learn to work formally with them. Two weeks later, he was already making his debut with Johnny and El Conjunto Amistad. His entry into the group coincided with the farewall of the lead singer, something that was just perfect for Roosevelt.

Other groups

After leaving El Conjunto Amistad, Roosevelt continued his career and joined Ángel Lebrón y Su Sabor Latino, with whom he recorded a full album. Some time later, he joined Guapacha Latin Jazz led by the Venezuelan Gil Tower, with whom the Peruvian has an excellent personal relationship, despite having separated professionally.

In 2011, he became part of Conjunto Oye, which Roosevelt thinks is the best moment of his career because he was able to be himself within the orchestra and express his art with independence, something difficult in his previous groups. It was here that he had the growth he really needed to get ready and to take up greater challenges in the future.

Solo career

The information we found about his solo career revealed that Roosevelt went solo in 2019, but he corrected us by saying that, in reality, his first solo album ‘‘Un Nuevo Cantante” was recorded in 2018, which is when he really decided to open paths on his own.

Although he says he is grateful to all the bands he has played in, he also adds that there comes a point in life where every artist wants to build his own path when he already fulfil the conditions for that. In his case, he already had experience in singing, composing and creating useful contacts, so he gave himself the opportunity to try. The best thing is that his wife supported him at all times and, today, she continues to be his rock in whatever he sets out to do.

He also noted that he dreams of having his own orchestra someday and that it is important to have dreams in order to get where you want to be.

Roosevelt singing — Roosevelt Cordova singing on stage

Roosevelt Cordova ”El Presidente de La Salsa”

When we wanted to know the origin of his artistic name, he laughingly told us that it is all abut his first name. Let us remember that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the United States and his last name coincides with the singer’s first name.

When someone approached him to ask for a picture and asked his name, he said he had the same name as former U.S. President Roosevelt. Since this situation constantly repeated, his wife proposed him to use this to create a stage name for himself. That is how ”El Presidente de La Salsa” was born.

Llegó La Navidad

Currently, Roosevelt is currently promoting his new Christmas song ”Llegó La Navidad” of his own authorship. The idea of composing the song came from his wife and daughter, who insisted that it was time for him to release music written by himself.

So, he started the writing with the chorus and, from there, continued with the rest of the song. This is a technique he uses regularly when composing, as he ensures that people always remember the chorus more than the rest of the lyrics, so he always strives to have a catchy chorus that stands out in the public’s mind.

Poncho Sanchez visited us at the Salsa Museum

Like every month, we are going to dedicate this edition to a very special name in the Latin music scene and it is about the extraordinary percussionist and conguero Poncho Sanchez, who has given us the honor of donating some of his congas and the suit he wore during the Grammy Awards to the Spaha Salsa Gallery Museum.

In gratitude to such a generous act, we want to dedicate the following lines to his brilliant career and everything he has contributed to Latin music with his work and talent.

Poncho playing the congas — Poncho Sánchez playing the congas live

Poncho’s beginnings in music

Pablo Sanchez, better known as Poncho Sanchez, is currently a percussionist and salsa singer who leads a renowned Latin jazz and Cuban music band. He became such a talented artist after a long journey in the difficult and competitive music industry.

Poncho is the son of two Mexicans from different cities who had eleven children, the musician being the youngest of them all. From a very young age, he developed an intense love for music, which led him to learn to play instruments on his own.

Although Poncho was born in Laredo, Texas, he spent all his childhood in Los Angeles with his family. In that place, he began to have a lot of contact with American jazz, Latin jazz and soul. During his adolescent years, his musical tastes were dominated by artists such as Mongo Santamaría, James Brown, John Coltraine, Miles Davis, among many others.

Poncho at Catalina Bar — Poncho Sánchez performing at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood

When he decided he wanted to take music up professionally, he began to teach himself to play the congas, guitar, drums, timbales and flute. This is how he was preparing for what was to come in his professional life later on.

When he reached adulthood in his twenties, he was playing in various dance clubs for a while, until finally he got Cal Tjader and his group to notice his talent and invite him to join them.

Today, Poncho is very grateful to Cal and said that he learned a lot from him during the time he was in the group. In fact, he even recalled in an interview that he gave him some lessons just as he was a teacher and Poncho was a student. This, in order to be on par with his bandmates and be able to put on a good show to the public.

Poncho and Tito Puente — Poncho Sánchez and Tito Puente ”The King of Timbales”

Poncho as a soloist

In 1980, Poncho finally managed to form his own group with which he began to carry out certain projects, although he had not completely departed from Cal’s band. In fact, the conguero worked with the musical director till the end of his days in 1982.

Just a few months later, he signed with the Concord Records label to release his first official solo album, which he titled ”Sonando”, marking the beginning of a partnership that remains intact to this day. So far, Poncho has some two dozen recordings with Concord.

Following decades of starting his career, Poncho saw his dreams become a reality when he won a Grammy for ”Best Latin Album” in 1999 thanks to the Latin soul album he had recorded at the time. That’s when the artist finally felt that everything he had worked for in the previous years had paid off.

As for his latest album called ”Trane’s Delight”, Poncho seeks to pay homage to the artists who have inspired him and helped him develop his own art, as he considers that these personalities have been a fundamental basis for his growth as a music professional.

Gato Barbieri was an excellent and virtuoso Argentine saxophonist par excellence

The Argentine musician takes us on a journey through his illustrious career.

Gato Barbieri

Editor’s note: Famed saxophonist Leandro “Gato” Barbieri passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2016, in New York City. He was 83 years old.

In 2015, the Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence was presented to Argentine composer Gato Barbieri, one of the most deserving musicians to be honored for his extensive career, throughout which he created a bridge between Latin music and an international audience.

In love with jazz since his formative years in the city of Rosario, Barbieri trained playing with great figures of American jazz during the 1960s.

But his heart never left his Latin American sensibility. When he came to fame as a soloist and leader of his own group, he sold millions of records, forging a personal language that draws inspiration from tango, Brazilian cadences, the sounds of the Andes and South American folklore.

Over the past few years, Barbieri, who turns 83 on November 28, has suffered several health complications. From his home in New York, the musician spoke with remarkable sincerity about this new stage of his life, now far from his youth, but full of acceptance and hope.

You recently performed at the Blue Note club in New York and sold out. How does it feel to be a jazz legend at the age of 80-something?

When I play here at the Blue Note, people come from Russia, from Europe, from everywhere, because people identify with what Gato has done.

Now, I’m a little sick and it’s hard for me to walk. I don’t like that. I have to do exercises and things like that. I’m going to be 83 years old and it’s necessary to do these things that put me in a horrendous mood [laughs].

Life is like that, it has nice things and ugly things, and you have to keep walking, walking, walking…It’s like a tango. If you pay attention, tango talks about beautiful things: people, siblings, loves, the sweet details of existence. To this day, there are some tango songs that I find incredible.

What memories do you cherish from the beginning of your career?

When I started playing with the Casablanca orchestra, when I was 17. We played bebop music, which for me was something incredible. We used to perform at carnivals in the provinces of Argentina.

He is the most influential Argentine saxophonist in the global jazz scene.

I also have fond memories of playing in Europe with trumpeter Don Cherry, because I learned so much. He never said anything; he didn’t talk to us or explain anything about the music we were going to play. When we played together, we improvised, and he never stopped changing his compositions. It was a great thing.

And then, in 1972, came the music for Last Tango in Paris, which brought you international fame. What was it like to write the soundtrack for such a controversial film?

It was a magical thing, because Bernardo [Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci] is an incredible guy, an incredibly talented director. I was in good spirits, but it wasn’t an easy job because there were 50 moments in the film that needed music.

I remember we took a piano up to Pepito Pignatelli’s [owner of a legendary jazz club in Rome] house, which was on the fifth floor. Doing something like that 50 years ago was not easy, but when we recorded it, it was a beautiful thing. Sometimes the difficult things are the most beautiful.

And that unforgettable main theme, which is repeated throughout the film, how did it come about?

Bernardo called me and asked me to present him with several melodies, and that they should be as beautiful as possible. We had just gone to Italy to play some concerts, and we met Bernardo. I played him three or four tunes, and he immediately chose one and said: “This is the theme from The Last Tango in Paris”.

What do you think has been the secret of your success?

From 1970 onwards, I recorded about 45 records. That’s a lot. I was a guy who was always doing something, for me that lifestyle was a great satisfaction. As for the sax, I never knew much about chords. I make up my own chords, put one thing on top of them… and that’s it.

It’s hard to explain why I made the artistic choices I did. I wanted to do a little bit of everything, play an Argentine chacarera, or record with an Italian singer like Antonello Venditti [the hit ballad “Modena”, in 1979]. I always chose to play music from many different countries, and people identify with that.

Undoubtedly, you have lived a privileged life….

Yes, in a certain way, yes. Michelle [his first wife, who died in 1995] helped me a lot. She’s always in my heart, because she was incredible. She knew about film, art, so many things. In that sense, I learned a lot from her. And now I am living with Laura, my wife, who is a great person.

She has given me my only son, who is now 17 years old. He is tall and very intelligent, although a bit lazy, as I was myself at his age. It must be hereditary [laughs].

EL PAMPERO (1971)

After El Gato left his native Argentina, but before becoming a Latin jazz star, Gato Barbieri spent the second half of the 1960s collaborating with great, avant-garde musicians: trumpeter Don Cherry, vibraphonist Gary Burton and bassist Charlie Haden, among others. Capping a career for Barbieri as the leader of his own group, El pampero is an album recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Four tracks with extensive improvisations, steeped in South American nostalgia.

Gato Barbieri: Latin ‘jazz’ with a touch of pop and South American folklore.

By: Ernesto Lechner

Also Read: Irakere was a Cuban group that developed an important work in Cuban popular music and Latin Jazz under the direction of Chucho Valdés

Héctor Martignon has been one of the most sought-after pianists on the Latin jazz scene in New York

New York based-, Colombian born Hector Martignon has composed, orchestrated, produced, performed and recorded music in a wide spectrum of genres, from Classical and Crossover, to Jazz and World Music, to Rock and Pop.

His five albums as a leader, two as co-leader (MOZART’s BLUE FANTASIES and BACH’s SECRET FILES) as well as his work on over a hundred albums, scores for five feature films, three Broadway Musicals and multiple other projects, showcase his wide-ranging area of expertise.

At Mozart Studios recording Carlos Jimenez’ second CD, + Ruben Rodriguez + Vince Cherico. A pleasure!

After several nominations as a sideman, two of his five solo CDs were nominated for a GRAMMY Award (REFUGEE, 2008, and SECOND CHANCE, 2010).

He arranged and performed parts of the score of Ang Lee’s OSCAR-nominated movie EAT, DRINK, MAN, WOMAN.

His first professional recording was at age 18 (Mikis Theodorakis’s “Canto General”) while one of the most recent was on legendary rock band CHICAGO’s latest production, the Latin-tinged “EXITOS”.

He has written symphonic orchestrations, performed and recorded by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and compositions like ABRE LOS OJOS, CIERRA LOS OJOS, commissioned and premiered by the MUSICA DE CAMARA STRING ORCHESTRA at St Patrick’s Cathedral in April 2011.

Hector Martignon is currently working on a first CD with his BANDAGRANDE Big Band + String Quartet as well as an album with selections out of a series of 7 solo piano recitals at the Ludwigsburg University of Education (Germany), where he conducts a “compact seminar” on Classic Music-based improvisation every November.

As a requested sideman he has toured the world with such greats as Paquito D’Rivera, Ray Barretto, Gato Barbieri, Steve Turre, Don Byron, Tito Puente and was featured pianist with Max Roach’s PROJECT AMERICA at the 92 St Y.

His joy of teaching has made him a requested guest-lecturer and performance teacher in music faculties and academies in several countries of Europe, Japan, North- and South America.

Hector wrote an instructional book on Latin piano commissioned and published by Hal Leonard, the SALSA PIANO BOOK.

Martignon’s abilities as a pianist have always been enriched by his interest in varied musical genres.

He paid for his studies of classical piano and composition at the prestigious Freiburger Musikhochschule in Germany by performing with the best Afro-Cuban and Brazilian bands of Europe, backing stars like Celia Cruz and Ismael Quintana on their European tours, and recording with Tata Güiness and Arturo Sandoval.

At the same time he was attending seminars of contemporary composition with masters like Gyorgi Ligetti, Luigi Nono and Karl Heinz Stockhausen.

He also performed classical music in recitals and concerts in Germany, Italy and his native Colombia, specializing in Chopin, Bach and Debussy.

One of his latest endeavors has been a Jazz-Classical crossover project, co-lead with star virtuoso trumpeter Joe Burgstaller, in which the music of the classics, from Bach to Ellington is re-created in a chamber-jazz setting, to be enjoyed on their two releases, “Mozart’s Blue Fantasies” and “Bach’s Secret Files”.

Living in Brazil for a one-year love affair with that country and its music, Martignon soon became a requested studio musician and worked for star producer Carlinhos Brown.

Since relocating to New York City, Martignon has been one of the most sought-after pianists on the Latin jazz scene.

He’s toured North and South America, Europe, and Asia with the bands of Mongo Santamaría, Gato Barbieri, Steve Turre and Don Byron, who had him record in his latest CD.

He was featured pianist with the bands of Tito Puente, Mario Bauzá, Chico O’Farrill, Paquito D’Rivera, and Max Roach in his “Project America.” Most notably, Martignon was pianist for the late Ray Barretto’s various ensembles.

During his eight-year association with Barretto, his contributions as pianist, arranger, and composer were fundamental in shaping the sound of the now famous New World Spirit Sextet.

One of his last collaborations with Barretto, “My Summertime,” was a favorite nominee for a Grammy award. Martignon’s versatility has also made him extremely active in the film and television industries.

Besides playing all piano parts, he arranged and produced many parts of the score for the Oscar-nominated film “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” by Ang Lee and performed the piano and keyboard parts for many movie scores (i.e., “Gloria”, “Relativity”).

He is composer of the original music of two feature films, one of which, “Septimo Cielo”, won international awards. He also collaborated in the production of many Broadway musicals (“Chronicle of a Death Foretold”, Paul Simon’s “The Capeman”, “Selena Forever”) as conductor, arranger, and co-composer. In the fall of 2003 Hector visited Slovenia and Russia to collaborate with singer-songwriter Vitaly Osmsçko’s first symphonic CD.

The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra recorded in Moscow the orchestrations written by Hector.

As a composer, producer and arranger of TV and radio music his record is no less impressive. In 2001 he landed two spots for HBO Latino, and one for Coca Cola.

HECTOR” S FOREIGN AFFAIR In 1998 Martignon performed with his quartet “Foreign Affair”at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s famed annual festival “The Next Wave” on a triple bill with Tito Puente’s “Top Percussion” and Don Byron’s “Music for six Musicians”.

This proved to be a turning point for him and his ensemble, which evolved from the strictly acoustic trio sound of the first two CDs to a more eclectic and electric quartet sound.

The new configuration that evolved from that memorable concert started a series of concerts and recordings, with guitarist Mark Whitfield, Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona and Cuban drummer Horacio “Negro” Hernández.

This quartet performed and recorded live during a weeklong stint at New York’s famous Birdland.

The group has also performed on BET television festivals, at jazz clubs in Manhattan, and made various appearances in clubs and open-air festivals in his native Colombia and in Europe.

Martignon’s third solo project, to be released in the fall of 2003, is not only a reflection of the group’s new musical direction but also of his interaction with other world class musicians.

Eddie Gomez, Jeff Watts, Mathew Garrison, John Benitez, Dafnis Prieto, Willard Dyson have all made their unique contribution to this, Martignon’s new sound of Jazz.

Hector In Amsterdam with daughter Leticia

Hector Martignon never fails to surprise, challenge and delight us. Stay tuned and get involved in this affair.

Site: Héctor Martignon

Also Read: “El Sol de la Música Latina” el primer premio Grammy para el histórico disco de Salsa Eddie Palmieri

The Rumba Madre and its roots in Basque culture

The Rumba Madre is a Nashville-based group whose characteristics are very interesting and make it different from many other artists and orchestras that have appeared in this section over the past few years.

On this occasion, we had the pleasure of talking with Basque guitarist and tresero David Vila, who revealed the most important details about the creation of The Rumba Madre and his own musical career before and after the group, so just sit tight because there is a very interesting story coming on.

guitarrist David Vila — Basque guitarist and tresero David Vila, who kindly talked to us

Music in David’s childhood

When David was just a little boy, in his entire family, only his grandfather liked to sing. In contrary to the case of many other artists we have had the pleasure of interviewing here, David does not come from a family of musicians, but that did not keep him from developing a taste for this artistic side over time.

Being very small, his parents moved from Galicia to the Basque Country to work and seek a new life. In this autonomous community, the cultural environment turned very lively and punk and other similar rhythms were at their peak of popularity, which got him interested in the tuna guitar and other instruments. He also started listening a lot to jazz and blues, which became fashionable in those years.

Since David had no possibility to be formally educated in music, he just listened carefully and imitated the sounds the best he could until he decided that he needed to go one step further in his budding career as a musician. It was then when he moved to London, England, to study his degree in guitar. He had already worked as a musician in Spain, so this work experience was very useful to what he would do later on.

Aside from having obtained his degree in music, David also toured around Europe with some local bands, which he continued to do in the United States when he moved to Nashville.

Currently, he is a Hispanic popular music professor at the university level, so he teaches everything he has learned to young people who want to follow his same path.

Rubén Darío, Benjamín Alexander, and David Vila — Nicaraguan guitarist Rubén Darío, Puerto Rican bassist Benjamín Alexander, and Basque guitar player David Vila

Nashville

The first U.S. city David went to live in was Chicago because he was very interested in exploring the blues and other genres from that part of the country, but David did not have the visa required for entry into the U.S. at the time, so his plans to go there were inevitably postponed. When he was finally able to travel, he had no choice but to go to Nebraska and stay there for about two years for lack of a better option.

Subsequently, he chose the city of Nashville as his final destination because of the large amount of musicians who live and work there. He even went so far as to call this place ”The Disneyland of musicians” because of all the opportunities it presents in this area.

Another positive aspect for artists is that there are a lot of well-known record labels and studios to work with, making it an excellent choice for artists looking for a place to start or continue their careers. The locals themselves call it ”the music city” and have a saying that goes ”the worst waiter is a better musician than you,” making it clear how music is perceived in Nashville.

David’s inclination for Latin music

In England, David had already been studying some flamenco and, while it is true that he was not an expert yet, there were not many musicians in Nebraska who played that genre, so he caught the attention of many of his colleagues and groups that requested his services. The same thing happened in Nashville and the fact that he spoke Spanish reinforced the idea that he played Latin music.

The above led many to believe that David was capable of playing both Flamenco and Cuban music without any problem, which was not entirely certain at the time. This is how he ended up playing guitar in a Cuban son band, thanks to which he had to learn to play the Cuban tres in order to be in the band.

Although at first, it was too complicated for him, he focused on practicing a lot and listening to recordings of treseros to be able to imitate them as well as possible. Thanks to his effort and commitment, David learned how to play it and he spent five or six years doing it until he created his own group, The Rumba Madre.

David laughingly recalls that his goal when moving to Nashville was to play country music as he did in England, but there were so many country musicians that he chose to explore another niche and ended up studying and playing Latin and Caribbean music.

The Rumba Madre

After all the experience gained by David in those years, he thought it was time to create his own project and, for this, he chose two colleagues he met in that same musical context in Nashville, Nicaraguan guitarist Rubén Darío and Puerto Rican bassist Benjamín Alexander.

The three artists coincided many times in different bands and concerts in which they played together, so they already knew each other’s styles very well. Since they were all Spanish-speaking, migrants and musicians, they saw that they had many things in common and established a friendship that led to a band.

Both David and Ruben took advantage of the many compositions they had made in recent years and used them as repertoire for the project that was coming. Not much time would pass before music venues and festivals began to take them into account.

On one such occasion, they met Cultura Profética keyboardist and composer Iván Gutiérrez Carrasquillo, who had lived in Miami his whole life, but decided to try his hand in Nashville, Gutiérrez was so impressed with the music made by The Rumba Madre that he proposed them to make an album. He also acted as a contact point for The Rumba Madre to be in touch with companies and labels that would be key to the success of the group later.

They were going to release their first album in 2020, but could not present and promote it due to the pandemic, so they had no choice but to wait for things to die down.

So far, The Rumba Madre has experimented with rumba, punk, Cuban son, salsa, flamenco, tango and many other genres.